Friedrich Serturner (1783-1841)

Overview

Friedrich Wilhelm Adam Sertürner (June 19, 1783 in Neuhaus (near Paderborn), February 20, 1841 in Hamelin) was a German pharmacist who discovered morphine in 1805. Serturner was the first scientist successful in isolating morphine crystals from the poppy plant, in effect creating a much stronger and more effective painkiller.

Toxicological Perspective

As a pharmacist's apprentice in Paderborn, he was the first to isolate morphine from opium. He called the isolated alkaloid "morphium" after the Greek god of dreams, Morpheus. It was not only the first alkaloid to be extracted from opium, but the first alkaloid to be isolated from any plant.